Types of Ants in Sydney

Ants are a major problem for homeowners and businesses in Sydney, but there are only a few types of ants that cause the majority of problems. Here are the top 5 pest ant species found in Sydney:

Types of Ants in House

Black ants inside the house are one of the most common ant infestations we deal with. There are two common black ant species, which look very similar, but they have very different behaviours and nesting habits.

Black House Ant

The black house ant is a shiny, black ant with brown legs (with pale ends) and brown antennae. All the workers are the same size – about 2 -2.5 mm long.

The black house ant is happy nesting inside or outside buildings. Inside buildings they will build their nests in wall cavities or roof voids. They have a preference for sugary foods. They do build quite big nests but only in one location, with a single queen. This makes them quite easy to control.

White-footed house ant

The white footed house ant looks very similar to the black house ant but is slightly larger (2.5 – 3mm). As their name suggests, they have pale ends to their legs, but then if you look closely, the black house ants do too! (Although not quite as obvious). The white-footed ant has a significantly larger abdomen – about the same size as its head and thorax combined. It also tends to be a dull black colour whereas the black house ant is shinier.

White-footed ants build their nests inside buildings or outside, but typically above ground. Like the black house ant, they prefer sugary foods. The big feature of white-footed ants is that they can build very colonies consisting of multiple nests. They also contain a large number of egg-producing reproductives (not just one queen). This makes them quite difficult to control

Image credit: Karthik. iNaturalist. CC BY-NC

How we get rid of ants in the house

For ant nests in the house, we use baits so we can eliminate the nest. For ants coming in from outside, the main part of the treatment is to spray the outside of the house – create a barrier around the perimeter of the home and target their trails. If we can locate their nest outside, we will deal with that as well.

Types of Ants in Yard

There a number of ants found outside the house in the yard, but most of them don’t cause problems. The ant that causes most of the problems is the coast brown or big-headed ant.

Coastal Brown Ant

The coastal brown ant is notorious for digging up dirt under pavers. It will make its way indoors on occasion and does like eating petfood, but the main issue is undermining pavers – they dig up the dirt as they build their nests underground.

Coastal brown ants are quite easy to identify. They are a slow-moving brown ant, with the workers of variable size. There are small workers which are 1.5 – 2.5 mm long and a less common major worker which can be up to 4.5 mm long with oversized heads (which is where they get their alternative name from – big-headed ants).

Sometimes coastal brown ants will nest indoors in wall cavities, but typically they nest outside, building their nests in moist soils and under rocks and logs. They are an invasive ant and can develop very large colonies with lots of nests and multiple queens all part of the same colony. They have a preference for protein and oil. Whilst they can be relatively easy to eliminate from a given area, due to the size of the colony they can re-invade from surrounding areas.

How we get rid of ants in the yard

To deal with coastal brown ants, our main tool is a specialist ant spray. This long-lasting spray will eliminate the ants from the treated area. We sometimes use baits in areas where spraying may not be appropriate or if we want to try and eliminate nests outside of the sprayed area.

Types of Ants in Lawn

There two common lawn ants in Sydney, which are two different types of pests. Firstly, there’s the green-head ant, which has a nasty sting and secondly, there’s the funnel ant which can cause significant damage to lawns.

Green-head ant

The green-head ant is easy to identify. It’s a large black ant (up to 8 mm long), with a green / purple sheen in the sun. It is also very aggressive and has a nasty sting, which can be itchy for days afterwards. It builds its nests in lawns and under rocks and logs. It may have more than one nest or nest entrance as part of the same nest. It prefers protein and oil.

Funnel ants

You probably won’t see a funnel ant (as they live mostly underground). But for the record they are a large, light brown ant, 5 – 8mm long. However, you will see their soil funnels. They build large underground nests and deposit their excavations above ground forming the visible funnels. They are particularly active after rain. Their digging can undermine lawns and their funnels are unsightly, both of which can devalue homes. They actually feed on aphids found on the roots of certain grasses, which is why they are not found in every lawn.

How we get rid of ants in the lawn

The products we use to get rid of ants in the lawn depends on the species and the level of infestation. Typically, we will use baits for green-head ants, which may take 1-2 weeks to eliminate the nest. For funnel ants, we either use a spray or insecticide granules to treat the soil around the funnels. The ants pick up the insecticide when working the soil, eliminating the nest.

At Serial Pest Control, we can access a range of professional, specialist ant baits and sprays to deal with the various ant species. Coupled with our knowledge of ant behaviour, we can provide expert ant pest control services to eliminate your ant problem and provide long lasting protection.